Video: Controversy & Difficult Conditions for Lael Wilcox During the 2019 Great Divide Race

 well said .

 Can somebody in the know tell me why or what rule she broke and why some were saying her other races don't count either? Seems ridiculous, she's out there doing it while it sounds like people sitting on their asses with no real life of their own are making noise.

 @h82crash: I think the cited issues were around the second half of Rule 4 (tourdivide.org/the_rules):

"Tour Divide strives for equal opportunity within the GC. Whether doing an independent time trial or tackling the grand départ, TD requires that every challenger—from those living along the route to those living on other continents—have an equal playing field. Therefore, outside assistance[2] with navigation, lodging or resupply (especially receipt of supplies from a non-commercial shipper) is prohibited. Visitation: Divide racing is not intended to be a spectator sport! However, route-town locals only may interact with (i.e. visit briefly, cheer on) thru-racers as they pass through their locale. Out-of-town visitation to the GDMBR mid-race from challengers' family or friends—even if only a 'loosely-planned', remote possibility for rider rendezvous—is prohibited."

She did her best to minimize impact and I think personally the documentation was really cool- there was also the issue that another rider also had a film crew (though his film crew were private and not personally connected) and yet no one raised any concerns with it. There was also some silly online hearsay where a passionate divide race fan says they saw her getting paced by a film crew member on an e-bike but it doesn't seem like it was substantiated.

Personally I think there is no question Lael is a remarkable athlete, she has proven and continues to prove that she can do massive routes unsupported and fast AF and I think, as an outsider who has never raced something like this, that the film was a cool project giving us a view into a unique experience. Bummed about the controversy. In the end it was Jay Petervary (the rider who brought up the critisism) that suffered most as he got dumped by Salsa over it.

I also have no idea why people complained about other results. Fickle in-crowd dynamics not liking a media darling painting their sport in a way that doesn't fit their ideal of it perhaps?

 It is the same rule that everyone who has successfully and respectfully raced the Tour Divide has abided by. Emotional support IS Support. If you can't play by the rules you need to find a different game.

 Thanks, appreciate the answers.

 @snl1200: Very well said and good observations.

 @RkyMtnSrfr: Better disqualify Chris Seistrup and most of those other respectful riders then. There is video evidence of Chris's daughter filling his bottles.
Actually, most of the other fast finishers got emotional support too by Spot stalkers, phone and internet. One of the original rules was that cell phones were not allowed (that rule is now widely ignored).

 @taprider: Look, I know Lael, I've personally talked to her, I like her, and I think she is an amazing person and an incredible cyclist who will continue to break records and inspire many many people. However, the real problem with her ride and all the drama that ensued was not the presence of a media crew as there have been many out there, including myself, over the years. Instead, the main problem was Rue being a part of her media crew, which went in clear violation of the long established TD rules (section 4). Personally, I saw her crew out there twice (south side of Union Pass and in the Great Divide Basin), and in both instances Rue would have had to be hiding behind their Subaru or laying down in the backseat with a blanket over her for Lael not to see her. I didn't hang around in either case to see what actually happened, and if you watched the film it's obvious of how those situations most likely transpired. And that is the rub. If you've ever raced bikes, I have, then you will understand how seeing friends or family will inspire you to try harder to go faster. These are not my rules, they are fact. All that said, I can't wait to see what Lael does when she rides it as an ITT next year.

I also think it's interesting that Alexandera Houchain, the women's winner, was not interviewed (or if she was it wasn't included in the film). I will also go on to say that while many racers were waiting at Brush Mountain for better conditions, Alexandera was out in the Great Divide Basin pushing and carrying her bike through ten miles of un-ridable mud. She did not wait, she just kept trying. Meanwhile, Chris Seistrup was also making forward progress, after dealing with the same conditions on Sand Pass earlier the same morning, in some of the worst ever conditions in Colorado- I was there, it sucked. I later asked Chris about that, and part of his training the prior winter was to go out every time it snowed to practice riding and carrying his fully loaded bike in those conditions.

Everyone has decisions to make, and they are not necessarily right or wrong.

 That sounds RAD!

 Ah those Kujo's were sweet!

 Yes, so good!

 Lael rocks. You can't engage with FB trolls. They have all the time in the world to spout off from their mom's basement.

 @2hellUride43 : You just speak in term of calories, calories, and...calories, which is completely biaised. What about vitamins, slow sugars, minerals and so on? Also if you and your bike weigh a tank, it`s up to you :-)

 @softsteel: and In this particular race there is a bias towards calories.

 @softsteel: We are talking about a race aren't we? Stressing the body like this is ALWAYS a losing battle nutritionally, even with access to "WHOLE" food. The goal is to avoid catabolism as long as possible, but it happens, and most of your minerals and vitamins during an event like this will come from the breakdown of your own tissues, ie bones and muscle. So the goal is to be as nutritionally well rounded right BEFORE the race starts so when your body starts eating itself, it hopefully has enough to go on to finish. What these athletes eat DURING is to keep them on a survivable glide path.

 @softsteel: Look at this.

s23256.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/US-Europe-size-comparison.jpg

 @2hellUride43: It`s a race indeed, but a marathon, the UTMB, the Shimano Epic and so on are races as well, and as far as I`ve seen nobody eats burgers and hotdogs during these competitions, or at the end may be.
So that`s what I`ve said from the start: the difference is mainly cultural: in your side of the ocean, crap food is a norm, whether you practice a sport or not, and on a trip like that, lost in the middle of nowhere, competitors unfortunately don`t have the choice.
As said maxyedor (4 hours ago): ``Little mountain towns in the Rockies definitely don't have a Whole Foods, many of them don't even have an actual grocery store, but will always have a McD's or something similar. Small towns in America are very different than small towns in Europe.``

 @softsteel: This path is really damn far away from everything. You want to complain about the availability of vegetables in the Gobi desert next?

 @fruitsd79: Truth! EU sounds convenient though.

 @softsteel: you have no clue. Google calories burned per activity for cycling, feed it 4-5h, then google calories in Broccoli sprouts and come back to us.

 @softsteel: Again, I think it's important to realize that racers are not going to deviate from the route to go eat health food when all they are looking for is calories. You fail to recognize how remote the the trail is. The race does not go through small towns. It might come close to a small town, but it's not like it passes by many grocery stores. Riders are not going to get off course to find a fancy grocery store when it will cost them time or energy. Efficiency is the name of the game.

 funny, 20 years ago my mom gave me a map set for this route and as my life needed a '' reroute'' at the time, i went for it. glad i did, good therapy and good adventure. its never too late if you get inspired, i say go for it! cheers,man and thanks, mom!

 Mike Hall set the still standing Record in 2016 on Shimano Di2.

 Lael mentioned this in a post on the Silk Road race. I asked her what she does after a race, when everyone's just chilling and she was kind enough to respond. Basically, when you finish one of those things, there's no endorphin rush or crazy celebration because you're just too shelled. You basically have the energy to pose with your bike, if that's a thing, and then stumble inside for food and real sleep, according to her.

 The age of outrage. Makes me wonder what comes next ....